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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Where am I? And "Sister, Spy" Book Review

Hi friends!

I know I haven't been around much lately, and I wanted to give you an update as to why. For the first time in what feels like a long time many of the reasons are good. And I'm happy to share some great things on the horizon too!

Where I've Been...

First of all May kept me busy, I've been in a great group coaching course called the Own It Academy, led by Jessica Rasdall (She's amazing! Her story is unique and moving; definitely check her out if you want to learn how to convey your stories to folks!). The class has been a fantastic experience that's had me writing away as I learn more about how to tell my story to you all. The idea behind the course is boldly owning up to your story for the world to see and telling it effectively, so your audience can be encouraged, learn from what you have to say, and understand what it's like to be you. We're about 2/3 of the way through the course now and along the way I realized the writing I've been doing there has honestly sapped away at my creative energy for posts. So I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as I usually am, but I'm happy to be learning a lot, which I'm excited to start sharing with you all.

One of the biggest things I've discovered is how I've been looking for balance in my life and failing to find it. Mostly because I push myself so hard to reach goals that are unrealistic. I imagine you all can relate, you set great goals that when you look at each one individually seem quite attainable, but when you look at the big picture you realize you're trying too hard to be superwoman. Honestly, my goals have been ambitious, and that's not taken into account how I deal with depression or other areas of my life I want to respect.

It's made me re-think my plans and goals for the future. I'm prioritizing being happier and not being down on myself because I've set a course that's impossible to follow and be healthy. It means that instead of trying to post 3 times a week I'll try for 1-2 really great quality posts that will help you, my wonderful readers, much more. I love spending the time to research topics, creating great images, and fully writing out my ideas to give you the best I can. I'm looking forward to doing more of that. Right now my biggest problem is that I have loads of great ideas to write about, and have learn to put some of those ideas on the back burner!

Other than that I've been doing a lot with family, like having my parents visit, attending my brother in law Davey's wedding, and spending time with my husband. I've dealt with a nasty cold, and some other health issues, which are thankfully getting better, though I'll touch on them more in a future post. And in the past month my husband, Bryan, had been waiting for and finally received notice that the job he'd been contracting for the past 6 months is hiring him as a permanent employee. We're super thrilled about that and starting to think ahead for some new developments in our personal life related to the increased stability we'll be so lucky to have.

Sister, Spy - Book Review

I love finding new books in a variety of genres, and while normally spy stories aren't my thing the premise of this one captured my interest. And luckily I was given a copy of it to review by the publisher. "Sister, Spy" by Menahem Misgav is about a pair of siblings who survived WWII living in monasteries and were recruited by the Soviets to spy for them in the fledgling country of Israel.

The first third of the book starts with a situation where the brother is killed, then we learn more about his family and how they lived the war. A good amount of the next third of the book is about how he and his sister came to be spies. (Including a chapter on the sister's sexual awakening and subsequent relationships, which was a little graphic for my tastes, with all the parts of the story before it being focused on the family it was a little jarring.) Finally in the last third of the book we get to see why the brother was killed and what his sister and father will do now that he's gone.

Overall I enjoyed the author's writing style quite a bit and found a fast and engaging read. Other than the sexual content the only other fault I might have would be with some light mistakes in editing, all homonyms that snuck through the editing process. I feel like this happens with many recently published books I read, since publishing now relies so heavily on spellcheck as an editing tool. Perhaps this means I should take up editing? In any case such a common issue it's hardly worth mentioning if I weren't such a grammar nerd. I think most people with an interest in Holocaust survivors, spies, or Cold War fiction will enjoy this novel. Please check it out here on Amazon through this affiliate link.

Coming Soon

More book reviews!

A follow up article with more reviews of LuLaRoe clothing than the popular original post (found here).

About a dozen videos, including lots of unboxings of beauty, geek, craftsy, and food boxes, plus my first fashion review on film!

And last but not least here's a brand new giveaway if you scroll down, because it's been too long since I've had some fun with you all! Thanks and I'll see you all again very soon.

This giveaway includes a pair of LuLaRoe leggings in size TC (Tall & Curvy, fits sizes 12-24) 3 pairs of owl socks, and 2 pairs of "invisible" or "floating" style cat socks. The owl and cat socks can be found here (owls) and here (cats) through my Amazon affiliate links. LuLaRoe clothing is sold through local or online consultants, you can buy leggings through my consultant, Nicole's Facebook group here. None of the companies involved paid me in any way, I just wanted to share some fun clothing with you all in this month's giveaway, which runs until July 4th!

Welcome

Hi, I'm Lydia! Here you'll find posts about the many things I love in life - fashion, beauty, books, travel, art, family, DIY, games and geeky fun, photography, and more. I also make videos so, hop over to YouTube to hear about more of the fun. Sit down and read a note or two, and feel free to write one back. I enjoy hearing people's stories and getting to know who they are. Find out more on the About Me page in the top bar.

Credits and Important Info

All images on this blog belong to me unless otherwise noted, please give full credit and let me know via a comment or email if you wish to use them.

Image frames are found from a collection of sources, contained in this blog post - http://www.newlymynted.com/2014/02/free-photo-templates.html or through in the iOS App PhotoCollage.

If I link to Amazon in any post the link is an affiliate link. All this means is if you go to Amazon from that link and buy something, even if it's not the item I recommend then you're helping me out. If you don't want to you don't have to use my link to buy from, but if you do, thanks!